Tori’s parents’ marriage is falling apart and with the pandemic flaring up, Tori is unhappy and miserable, when she overhears a conversation her father is having on the phone with someone from The Times asking her father odd questions and mentions something called the Desert Sun.

Tori goes down a rabbit hole online and learns that the Desert Sun is a diamond that her grandfather had stolen in the 80’s. When she learns this, she gets upset that she was never told and stares at the diamond and passes out.

When she wakes up, she wakes up in her room in New York, but not in her year. She’s woken up in the year 1980 and her father as a young kid is there. And now she realizes she has the opportunity to stop the diamond heist form occurring with the help of her dad.

Soooo I have mixed feelings about this book. It kept my attention enough that I wanted to read it and see what happens, but I also wanted to rush through it because I wasn’t a fan of the writing nor the dialogue.

I love books involving time travel. I’m a huge sucker for them. I love to read any book with time travel to see what happens in that particular book. I also enjoy reading about heists. They’re generally exciting books to read. This had both, which is good since this is what truly kept my attention.

It also had a lot of focus on a relationship between a father and his daughter that needed repairing. Tori got to learn more about her dad and maybe what he truly was like before the original heist occurred. I’m sure it was trippy, but it was a good moment for them to learn about each other and do better with their relationship in the future. I think that part of the story was rather endearing.

There are twists in here and exciting parts and exciting events.

That’s what I enjoyed, however, the rest of the book was hard to get into. There was a lot of unnecessary dialogue, at least I think so, and I just wanted to skim read all of it and just get to what I thought was important.

I wish there was more of a buildup before Tori gets transported back in time because it just happens suddenly and I think there’s a brief mention about how that MIGHT have happened, but it’s not really explained. And it’s not really explained as to why her parents were splitting, at least I didn’t really understand why. I mean if they were splitting because of how her dad has been since the original heist, then why were they together all this time and why now suddenly are they splitting? It was just little details like this I would have enjoyed knowing.

I think the book just mainly focused on the time travel and the father/daughter relationship and forgiveness rather than anything else. Which is fine if that’s what you enjoy, a very fast, quick and easy read. I will say it was perfect to read this in between heavier books that I usually read. Something to build me up before my next book shatters my heart all over again 🤣

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I can’t lie when I say I found this book incredibly underwhelming. Too much time was spent on plot development and the climax took 80% of the book to get to. It felt like all the pertinent information was left to the end and the ending itself was pretty confusing. I didn’t enjoy this.

Thank you @getredprbooks & @tiliakjacobs for my complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

In this engaging time travel novel, the blend of action and suspense promises to keep readers on the edge of their seats. As Tori navigates the challenges of being in a different era, she not only faces the ticking clock of an impending jewelry heist but also the complexities of family dynamics and personal growth.

The setting of 1980 is vividly portrayed, offering a nostalgic glimpse into the culture, fashion, and technology of the time, contrasted with Tori's modern sensibilities. This juxtaposition creates humorous and enlightening moments as Tori adapts to a world without smartphones and the internet, and tries to explain these things to Bobby, who turns out to be her father, 40 years earlier!

But Tori knows that something terrible is about to happen. A valuable diamond is going to be stolen from The American Museum of Natural History and her grandfather will go to prison because of it. As Tori and Bobby work together to thwart the heist, their relationship deepens, revealing layers of understanding and connection between father and daughter. Tori's journey is not just about saving the diamond; it’s also about discovering her family's history and the bond they share, despite the generational gap.

The novel explores themes of courage, loyalty, and the importance of understanding one’s roots. With unexpected twists and turns, the story will keep the reader engaged until the very last page, making it an exhilarating read for anyone who loves a good adventure mixed with a bit of nostalgia.

This was such a fun time-travel novel. I loved that it was a teenager going back in time and getting to experience the time that her parents grew up in. While I am an early 90’s baby I was still able to get the nostalgic feeling of life before some of the technological advances we have now. The dialogue was written well. I loved the back and forth between Tori and Bobby as they tried to grasp the other’s life. I loved the suspense that came from the heist and getting to see a pov from the thieves throughout. It was fast paced and explored the problems that can come from messing with time. The ending was heartwarming and a great way to wrap it up.

Thank you @getredprbooks @tiliakjacobs @normanbirnbach for the gifted copy

Not going to lie, when I read the description and saw time travel I was skeptical if I would enjoy Stealing Time. Time travel has always made my head hurt but thankfully Stealing Time has so much more to offer. The time travel speak gave me minimal head spinning and I absolutely loved Tori teaming up with her 80s version of her dad to stop a heist.

As a child of the 90s I was able to appreciate most of the references from traveling back in time and obviously some of the ridiculous things in 2020 (looking at you toilet paper hoarders!).

This was such a great read and I would like to give a huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of Stealing Time to read and review!

This is a fun time caper. In March 2020, as the world is shutting down, Tori’s parents have decided to separate, and Tori is packing up to move to Boston with her mom, while her father will stay in New York City. In the midst of this a news reporter calls to speak to her father about an event from 40 years ago. While looking up what he was talking about, she somehow ends up going back in time to 1980. I really enjoyed this fresh take on time travel.

Life isn’t looking too rosy for Tori. It’s the early days of the pandemic and she and her mom are about to move from New York City to Boston, to shelter with her aunt. Her parents are separating and Tori is saying goodbye to her dad. Not that she’s probably going to miss him a bunch: he’s always been grumpy.

Just as she and her mom are about to leave the apartment Tori has always known as home, she finds out that her dad’s late father was jailed years before for being involved in a jewelry heist.

As she’s ruminating on her discovery, Tori suddenly finds herself somewhere different — actually somewhen different. She’s still in her apartment; some things are the same and some things are different. And there’s a boy about her age living in HER room!

It just takes a short time to figure out that Bobby, the 15-year-old stranger, is actually her dad back in 1980. And the jewelry heist hasn’t happened yet.

They both figure out that they need to stop Bobby’s dad from getting involved in the theft. Of course, that’s easier said than done for two teenagers. But they’ve got to try.

Stealing Time is a time-travel book, sure, but that’s just a part of the plot. The heist (or the two kids’ attempts to stop it, or at least stop their dad/granddad from being blamed for it) is a bigger part. But the biggest part of the story is the relationship Tori gets to develop with her dad before he was her dad and he was just a nerdy kid. I love time travel and I love heists, and this scratched those itches OK, but I did like the sweetness of the family story the most.

This is definitely a book aimed at young adults, and the style and tone feels a bit more like it skews toward the younger part of that bracket. So the profanity seemed jarring to me; it didn’t fit with the overall feel of the book and the likely audience. It would have made much more sense for there to be no strong language and a lot less of the moderate profanity too.

Stealing Time doesn’t focus on an elaborate and gripping heist; neither is it a complicated, scientific time-travel tale. But it’s a cute story about family. Just don’t expect to hand it to younger readers because of its content.

Tori, a teenager living in New York during the pandemic of 2020, is transported back in time. She finds herself in her own bedroom, but now it belongs to Bobby, a teenaged boy in 1980. As the story progresses, we find out that Bobby is Tori’s dad, and that Tori seems to have been sent back to prevent Bobby’s dad Victor (her grandpa) for taking the blame for stealing an extremely valuable gem called the Desert Sun from the museum that he works at as Chief Gemologist.

The best part about this book was how well the authors captured the aura of 1980. It makes me realize all the things that have changed over 40 years. Having been born in the 1980s, nearly everything mentioned in the book was familiar to me, although there were a couple references that skimmed just over my head. No biggie, although this may affect a younger audience a bit more.

Overall, this book made for a sweet and light-hearted read. A little bit of swearing, but the story mostly centers around the strengthening of a father-daughter relationship, as they get to know each other outside of their traditional roles. I’d actually really like to see more books in the same vein, only with different time periods, since the authors wrote that so well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Linden Tree Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

A strange thing happened when I was reading this book. I very much liked the plot and the characters and the writing but I didn’t enjoy the actual reading of it. I felt like I was reading forever but making no progress. The only reason that I can guess is that I didn't like the chapters that were about the gang of thieves and I would zone out while reading them. I’m not sure that it was necessary to have quite so many of them and they were too long. But about the book… even though it might seem like a typical time-travel plot I felt like there was something different about this one. Tori is dragged back in time without any warning and faced with her exact circumstances but in 1980 instead of 2020. She is faced with her father as a kid her age and they have an entirely different relationship. Knowing her father (and several other characters) in two different times is a really interesting aspect of the story, and the way it is done seems new and different. I liked the buildup to the theft and the way it was done but what I really enjoyed was the last chapter, where Tori and her father talk about what knowing each other in two different eras means for the future. That point was, for me, such an important aspect of the story and I am happy that it was given the attention it deserved.
I would recommend this book to readers even though I had a hard time with parts of it. The story as a whole was worth the effort it took for me.
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC in return for a fair and unbiased review.

I loved how this one went! It had great themes and I loved how the characters were both written and developed. The storyline was interesting and I loved the entire aspect of it, the dual timelines are super interesting!!

As a fan of time-travel fiction, this book hits the mark. A great read for young adults, with just enough suspense, pathos, heart, mystery, and time-travel paradox to keep the pages turning. Great job!

Honestly, this was just a fun story. Time travel. Family drama. And of course, a diamond heist. I can’t really say too much without giving away big plot points, but it was definitely a fun read if you enjoy sci fi and pop culture references.

This YA book was a lot of fun. There was a dual timeline, but most of the book was set in the past. I’m also partial to any books that have an 80’s timeline. Loved the 80’s! The characters were well developed and the cover of the book is beautiful. Reading about how a teenager deals with not having the technology she is used to after traveling back in time was great. I liked the ending of the story which explained how things the main character did when she traveled back in time affected the present. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader’s copy.

15 year old Tori is experiencing the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020 Manhattan. Her parents are separating and her mother's about to take her to live in the Boston area. When she overhears a conversation her father is having, she ends up on the internet researching the theft of a rare diamond from the Museum of Natural History and the conviction and imprisonment of her grandfather for the theft. Then, all of a sudden, she's back in 1980 the same age as the boy who's going to become her father. Can she stop the theft of the diamond and get back to 2020?

This is a sweet YA time travel book with Jewish main characters and a diamond heist plot. While most of the POV is Tori's, there are a number of chapters from the POV of the gang of thieves. These read more like 1930s gangster characters than a 1980 criminal gang. Other than that issue, the rest of the book was well written, a bit more down on 1980 NYC than necessary, but on the whole a really engaging book.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

This young adult novel has it all; time travel, a heist, action, family drama and coming of age. The two main characters are likeable and well-developed characters. It was fun to see the difference in technology and eras between two teenagers 40 years apart. Watching a contemporary teenager navigate the 1980’s was fun but watching Tori struggle to explain 2020 to Bobby was even better. The setting of gritty 1980’s NYC to the same apartment in pandemic era NYC was a great addition to the story. The details of the differences in the apartment, down to what was on the walls, were well done. The plot was fast moving with an unexpected twist and a great ending. This was a real gem!

I always like a good time travel story and this was a pretty fun one. I liked the relationship between Bobby and Tori. The jewelry heist added a lot to the mystery of why Tori time traveled and how would she get back. I also liked the family aspect of the story. I thought it was a quick read that had me turning the page wanting to find out how it ends.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. I’m a Gen Xer, so this hit home with the 80s vibes. I like how the parents trust their son and didn’t just instantly make her call home, even though after a bit they didn’t believe Tori’s story.

I DNF’d this book. The biggest issues for me was 1. I didn’t have a lot of time, and this book just didn’t really hook me or make me want to read it and 2. The writing style. I just couldn’t handle the main character’s tone. It drive me crazy, and the book just felt a little info-dump-y in its world building and exposition. It could very well get better later on in the book, but I just didn’t have time to keep reading and see.

I love the cover of this book; it's unassuming and perfectly represents the story. I enjoyed that the narrative is set during the pandemic, which adds a contemporary, relatable feel, making it seem like it could happen in real life. Although the time travel trope has been explored before, this story presented a fresh and unique spin.

Can we take a moment to give a hand clap for the relationship development between Tori and her father, Bobby? This book combines time travel, mystery, and action, all while incorporating a heartwarming element of family love.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book—it was an engaging read right from the start. I would be interested in exploring more works from these authors.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tilia Klebenov Jacobs, Norman Birnbach, and AuthorBuzz, for the e-ARC of "Stealing Time." I am providing this honest review voluntarily and without any pressure.

Time-traveling jewel heist for the win.

Much like Back to the Future did for the 1980s, this book is a powerful look at what it means to come of age - and how important it is to see your parents as people.

But more than that, this is a fun jewel heist story! If that's your thing, this is the story you've been missing!

Need a 2020 story that isn't depressing or hard to read? You need this book.

Can't tell you how much I needed this. Fun!